NATO Researchers: Stuxnet Attack on Iran Was Illegal 'Act of Force'

by Kim Zetter

A cyberattack that sabotaged Iran's uranium enrichment program was an "act of force" and
was likely illegal, according to research commissioned by NATO's cyberwarfare center.

"Acts that kill or injure persons or destroy or damage objects are unambiguously uses of
force" and likely violate international law, according to the Tallinn Manual on the
International Law Applicable to Cyber Warfare, a study produced by international legal
experts at the request of NATO's Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence in
Estonia. . . .